Infection rate rises in Germany

The Reference

Experts warn the infection rate must stay below the new level of 1.0 to slow down the outbreak in Germany. Transmission rates in Germany have gone up from 0.9 to 1.0

The organizer of the Tokyo Olympic Games says the event would be canceled if the pandemic is not under control next year

Up to 50,000 businesses in Germany could become insolvent due to COVID-19

Australia and New Zealand have begun to ease some coronavirus lockdown restrictions

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to climate protection, despite the enormous social and economic challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis.

Speaking remotely for the annual Petersburg Climate Dialogue, Merkel also called for climate-friendly stimulus packages during the coronavirus crisis.

She added that despite tight budgets, climate protection must always remain in the picture.

France is set to end its lockdown on May 11, but the government is still working on a plan to gradually lift the restrictions.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told parliament that the lockdown imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had saved 62,000 lives in a month, but that keeping the restrictions in place would mean risking economic collapse.

Philippe told lawmakers that it was time to explain to the nation how to gradually ease the coronavirus lockdown, as French citizens now have to learn to live with the virus and protect themselves.

Maximum care in unwinding the restrictions is required, the prime minister said, in order to avoid a second wave of infections.

“The risk of a second wave, which would strike a weakened hospital fabric, which would impose a ‘re-confinement’, which would ruin the efforts and sacrifices made during these eight weeks, is a serious risk, a risk that must be taken seriously.”

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the German government wants to be more informed of any foreign purchases of stakes in critical European healthcare companies. “This applies to vaccines, medicines and medical protective equipment, for example,” Altmaier said in a statement.

“This is how we can prevent medical know-how and production capacity that is key for the population’s healthcare from going abroad. The coronavirus crisis we’re currently experiencing shows this is a necessity,” he added.

The German government is hoping to examine more closely any stakes of 10% or more by investors outside the EU.

A minute’s silence has been held in the UK to pay tribute to key workers who have died while continuing to do their job during the outbreak in the country.

The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined people from across the country in the silent tribute, which took place today at 11 a.m. local time.

The idea came from the healthcare workers’ groups – Unison, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives – as a way of commemorating those healthcare and key workers who have lost their lives while trying to help care for people with COVID-19, as well as the British public at large.

A record 50.9 million people worldwide are currently internally displaced because of extreme weather, natural disasters or war. Most of them are in overcrowded camps, where the coronavirus pandemic makes them more vulnerable than ever.

South Korean boyband BTS have suspended their world tour, set to commence in April, due to COVID-19, the band’s management has announced.

The seven-member band had already postponed the North American leg of the tour, that was scheduled to start on April 25, and canceled a Seoul concert because of the global pandemic. But now the band have also said they will not be performing scheduled concerts in Japan and across Europe.

“Due to the nature of BTS concerts involving travel by thousands of international fans no matter where the performances are held, it is also difficult to resume the tour with the current strict restrictions on cross-border movement still in place,” Big Hit Entertainment said in a statement.

A contact-tracing mobile phone application could be made available in the UK within three weeks, a senior official has announced, as the country looks to technology as a way of combating the spread of COVID-19.

The app is designed to let people know if they have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the new coronavirus. Matthew Gould, chief executive of the National Health Service’s technology group NHSX, told a parliamentary committee: “We hope in the next couple of weeks we’ll be in a position to roll it out in a small area. I would expect it technically to be ready for a wider deployment in two to three weeks.”